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Police escort far-right protesters in the east German town of Chemnitz

The claim: The deputy leader of the far-right party Alternative for Germany (AfD) said there had been "447 killings and murders" by illegal migrants in Germany last year.

Reality Check verdict: The German interior ministry says that in fact last year 27 illegal migrants either committed or attempted to commit murder or manslaughter. The 447 figure refers to killings or attempted killings by all asylum seekers and refugees, most of whom are in Germany legally. Overall crime in Germany has fallen to the lowest level since 1992, but there has been an increase in migrant crime.

In the past couple of weeks, the east German town of Chemnitz has seen tensions flare over the issue of migrants and crime.

Protests by the far right began after two migrants, a Syrian and an Iraqi, were arrested after a 35-year-old German man was stabbed to death in a fight on 26 August.

The next day a counter-protest started, marked by a concert in the city, against violence and xenophobia.

Since Europe's huge 2015 influx of migrants and refugees more than 1.5 million asylum seekers have entered Germany. In that time, anti-migrant rhetoric has increased and so has support for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.

It analysed the crimes that had been solved, and attributed the overwhelming majority of the rise to migrants.

Young men and crime

Criminologists say the make-up of the new arrivals is an important factor.

In 2014, German men between the ages of 14 and 30 made up 9% of the population and were responsible for half of all the country's violent crimes.

When it comes to the new arrivals, men aged 16 to 30 made up 27% of all asylum-seekers who came in 2015.

"It is because of the demographics," claims Dr Dominic Kudlacek, from the Criminological Research Unit of Lower Saxony. "Whether they're asylum seekers or EU migrants, they are younger than the average population and mostly male. Young men commit more crimes in every society."

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Police intervene at a refugee centre in Ellwangen after a confrontation with migrants

Other factors also influence the trend, says Dr Kudlacek.

"They have social deprivation, they are alone and they spend most of their time with other people suffering from these risk factors - the accommodation of the majority of asylum seekers is like refugee camps with little privacy, which again can add to the likelihood of committing crimes."

Asylum seekers in Germany face bureaucratic hurdles before they're allowed to find work, and while they receive some money from the state, it is limited.

Dr Kudlacek also points out that asylum seekers are often victims of crime as well.

A lot of the crime they commit, especially violent crime, they commit against other refugees.